Join in the strike against SOPA and PIPA!!!

[safeguy]

Leofelix started a thread here regarding Wikipedia's blackout in strike against SOPA. I actually wanted to create a thread here (well, before he did) and I've decided to post it as such still as it'll be too long to add on as a comment/reply there. I know it's late but better than never, so here it is:

Why is the blackout happening?

Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people's access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.

Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won't be effective at their stated goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

SOPA and PIPA - Learn more (Wikipedia)

How will this affect internet users outside of the US?

SOPA is designed to effect the global Internet, so non-US Internet users may be just as affected as Americans. Sites like reddit that have user-generated content are at risk of being shut down due to their inability to monitor all content for possible copyright violations, and the prohibitive legal fees that fighting such challenges would likely entail. Non-American websites that host user-generated content would be at risk of being DNS-blocked, and although there are workarounds to this, it would negatively impact traffic flow, increase technical and legal fees, and provide a strong incentive to block US traffic.

The US has a record of attempting to influence other countries to enact similar legislation as that passed in the US, so there is the very real possibility that there will be a domino effect as other countries pass laws that align with SOPA. This could lead to a Balkanization of the Internet, as fighting foreign legal challenges becomes more difficult.

FAQ for the SOPA (Reddit)

Over the weekend, the Obama administration issued a potentially game-changing statement on the blacklist bills, saying it would oppose PIPA and SOPA as written, and drew an important line in the sand by emphasizing that it “will not support” any bill “that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."

As Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian explained, PIPA and SOPA are “the equivalent of being angry and trying to take action against Ford just because a Mustang was used in a bank robbery.” These bills must be stopped if we want to protect free speech and innovation on the web.

How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles Supporting Free Speech and Innovation (EFF)

We oppose the passage of the SOPA bill as currently drafted. We think the White House statement points in a constructive way to problems with the current legislation, the need to fix them, and the opportunity for people on all sides to talk together about a better path forward.

Microsoft finally issues SOPA opposition statement (Neowin)

You can find list for those who opposes SOPA here:
List of Those Expressing Concern With SOPA & PIPA

Finally (although I do quite like some of his songs, not being a fanatic myself, I still have to kick my ego in posting this), Justin Bieber (yeah, Bieber haters look out!!) opposes SOPA:
http://www.bieberisright.org/
http://www.freebieber.org/

Join the Sopa Strike here (I did despite not being a US citizen myself. I couldn't care less even if it's void)
http://sopastrike.com/
http://americancensorship.org/
http://fightforthefuture.org/

I wish Raymond joins in the strike against SOPA. If need be, I'd appreciate at least a blog post on the subject or even a banner on top of the blog/forum.

P.S. I can't help it but SOPA= Screw Off Pathetic Assholes...

[Bearcat]

Thank you very much for a very thorough and informative post safeguy!

Since the World Trade Center was hit by those airplanes the US gov't has slowly, but surely usurped many of the basic freedoms my country was founded upon in the name of "national security" and the citizens of this country don't seem to care. There are a number of reasons for this, but I won't bore you with the gory details. Maybe now, something like this will start to wake these people up and we can do something about it, before it is too late.

[BigGuy]

Thank you for posting this safeguy!

[Krumpelt]

Thanks safeguy!
Forgive me for the my comment...



I'm sorry leo...

[Ceyfer √]

Since the World Trade Center was hit

Larger Picture:

SOPA/PIPA is a new strategic asset agains't asymmetrical warfare by the US. It has more global striking capabilities than most of the censorship programs made by other countries, specifically in the eastern hemisphere.


Sign of the times!

[adwestop]

SOPA is Dead..

Thanks for the Hacktivist..

[Bearcat]

Larger Picture:

SOPA/PIPA is a new strategic asset agains't asymmetrical warfare by the US. It has more global striking capabilities than most of the censorship programs made by other countries, specifically in the eastern hemisphere.

Thanks ceyfer! That was great man! I think it reflects the true colors of "old fifty seven states", and yes he did say that once in a speach.

[Redfox]

let us also include ACTA where it is more worst than SOPA and PIPA.

[Ceyfer √]

A great SOPA/PIPA reference from LUMIN Consulting | Technical Examination/ Infographic.

[safeguy]

let us also include ACTA where it is more worst than SOPA and PIPA.

Honestly, that's the 1st time I'm hearing of it. I've just checked and to make things worse, my country Singapore has signed the agreement. I'll read up more on it.